UPDATED: New BENRUS Owners Are Granted Restraining Order Against Feroce
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
The new ownership group of the BENRUS trademarks was granted a temporary restraining order by Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein on Tuesday barring any interference with the brand from Giovanni Feroce's former company.
According to court documents, Feroce and his entity are “temporarily restrained from utilizing, advertising, selling, marketing disposing, transferring and encumbering any goods bearing the Mark [Benrus] and/or related Intellectual Property.”
In addition, Feroce and his entity are blocked from the usage of the URL www.benrus.com. The new entity, Benrus Holding is also seeking the appointment of a special master to govern the transfer of assets from Feroce's company to the new company. Attorney Mark Russo who represents the new company could not be reached for comment.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOn Tuesday night, Feroce told GoLocal, "The TRO is ridiculous giving the fact that liquidating older assets was part of the settlement that the new holding company was lock-step in negotiating."
Feroce lost control of the trademarks when he failed to make payments to the previous owners. In May, an agreement on the control of BENRUS was reached, but Feroce failed to make more than $1 million in payments.
GoLocal reported in May:
The lawsuit filed in December of 2016 by Feroce’s BENRUS in a Delaware court alleged that Bernie Mermelstein and two New York companies tied to Mermelstein defrauded Feroce, breached contracts, delivered defective goods, made misrepresentation, and breached the contract, among the many claims filed. And, there were a plethora of counterclaims by Mermelstein. Counter claims were made that put Feroce's control into question. Now, all these issues are resolved.
Back in Court on Wednesday
The parties are to attend a conference on Wednesday with the judge on Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Feroce had announced his departure from the company.
Feroce said he will focus on his own brand and will concentrate on writing and speaking.
“These are steps that I have planned for some time, so that I can also take a serious look at the Governor's race. My timeline for a decision on that has not changed. I will use the balance of this year to divest myself of certain commitments as I look to the first quarter of 2018 to build a winning strategy and plan,” said Feroce.
Feroce has faced significant financial challenges in recent months. In September, Feroce's Newport mansion was sold at a bank auction for $4.175 million and was purchased by Coastway Community Bank — the bank that held the mortgage on the property.
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- UPDATED: New BENRUS Owners Are Granted Restraining Order Against Feroce
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